New image is key to Lafourche tourism

Changing the way others see Lafourche Parish and improving tourism coordination is vital to bringing more visitors into Lafourche Parish, said residents who took part in a public workshop Wednesday.

Xerxes WilsonStaff Writer

Changing the way others see Lafourche Parish and improving tourism coordination is vital to bringing more visitors into Lafourche Parish, said residents who took part in a public workshop Wednesday. About a dozen parish residents discussed how they see the tourism industry growing in the coming decades at the workshop, which was used to help develop the parish’s comprehensive resiliency plan. The plan will lay out the vision for roads, bridges, flood protection, economic development and land use. It will also articulate how the parish should reach such goals. The plan is meant to be a guide for local lawmakers.The workshop began with John Fregonese, president of Fregonese Associates, a consultant paid by the parish to help develop the plan, pointing out tourism-related goals and issues identified by past research. He also noted how other communities have made the most of similar resources. “The community has not made the most of the bayou,” Fregonese said. Fregonese said growing eco-tourism such as bird watching, fishing, hiking and bike trails can make use of the parish’s natural assets. He also suggested the idea of a bayou taxi, which would take groups up and down Bayou Lafourche. “The bayou is pretty in places, but there isn’t a lot of attraction there,” said Donna McBroom-Theriot of Valentine, noting much of Bayou Lafourche has residents living on either side. She said the parish could benefit from restaurants along the bayou with perhaps a water taxi ferrying people to eat at various places.McBroom-Theriot is involved in developing rental property in south Lafourche and said Leeville has much potential for attracting visitors because of its close proximity to the parish’s wildlife offerings. Authur Matherne, who runs an airboat tour service in Des Allemands, said the parish should focus on developing assets visitors can take advantage of when the sun sets on the area’s natural beauty. “People get done in the afternoon and ask me all the time where they can do some Cajun dancing,” Matherne said. Matherne also said the tourism industry in the parish could benefit from greater coordination with one type of service recommending other types. The group also discussed the challenge of the parish’s long geographic shape.Kyle Soignet of Thibodaux noted the parish could benefit from focusing its retail and other offerings in the central part of the parish to stop people from flooding to Houma. The parish should also emphasize the local festivals that have waned somewhat in recent years, he said. “They show the character and culture of the communities,” Soignet said. The group also discussed the positives and negatives shows such as “Swamp People” have brought to the area. Matherne said “Swamp People” helps attract tourists in droves; others said it gives a negative perception of the parish. “Everybody thinks we just walk out of doors barefoot and step over alligators to get to the pirogue to go to work,” McBroom-Theriot said. Most agreed the parish should market itself as a family-friendly area, which is not always the reputation. “Mardi Gras, for example, is family-oriented and family-friendly. That is not the perception outside,” said Balaji Ramachandran, a professor and department head at Nicholls State University. “The Cajun culture is rich, and that is what we need to educate people on.”